DrB's 2024 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #7 Mason Black

7.  Mason Black RHP.  DOB:  12/10/1999.  6' 3", 230 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2024.

2023(AA):  1-5, 3.57, 63 IP, 11.86 K/9, 3.00 BB/9.  

2023(AAA):  3-4, 3.86, 60.2 IP, 10.68 K/9, 4.60 BB/9.

Black has been one of the Giants more consistent pitching prospects since being drafted in the third round in 2021 out of Lehigh.  He doesn't really have an outstanding pitch in his arsenal but his FB/Slider present a pair of plus pitches with above average command.  The changeup lags a bit but can develop into at least an average third pitch.  Fangraphs mideason PV/FV scouting grades:  FB= 50/55, SL= 55/55, CH= 40/50, Command= 45/55, FB sits 92-95 and tops out at 97 MPH.  Again, I guess that's considered average these days.  

What lifted Black up to near the top of Giants pitching prospect rankings for me was his performance in AAA PCL maybe the toughest pitching environments in all of baseball.  No less than Baseball America seems to agree as they named Black the Giants 2023 Minor League Player of the Year.

On video, Black has a strong, muscular lower half which he uses to drop and drive.  He delivers the ball with loose, whippy arm action that makes his FB appear faster than the radar guns seem to record.  

DrB's 2024 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #8 Carson Whisenhunt

8.  Carson Whisenhunt LHP.  DOB:  10/20/2000.  6'3", 209 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2025.

2023(A):  0-0, 3.29, 13.2 IP, 13.17 K/9, 2.63 BB/9.

2023(A+):  1-0, 1.42, 25.1 IP, 12.79 K/9, 2.84 BB/9.

2023(AA):  0-1, 3.20, 19.2 IP, 12.36 K/9, 5.03 BB/9.  

Giants second round draft pick in 2022, Whisenhunt likely would have been a first round pick had he not been suspended for failed PED test before his college junior season.  Fangraphs rates his PV/FV on his pitches as FB 40/45, CB 40/45, CH 60/70!  Command 50/60.  FB sits 92-94 and tops at 96 which I guess is now pretty average.  The Changeup draws raves and is considered elite.  If he can maintain command of an average FB and curve to go with it he should be at least a mid-back end SP in MLB.  I expect him to start 2024 back in AA but with a solid chance of seeing big league action before the season is done.

DrB's 2024 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #9 Trevor McDonald

9.  Trevor McDonald RHP.  DOB:  2/26/2001.  6'2", 200 lbs.  

2023(A+):  3-1, 0.96, 37.2 IP, 9.32 K/9, 1.91 BB/9, GB/FB= 4.86.  

McDonald was an above-slot HS draft pick in the 11'th round of the 2019 draft.  He quietly moved up in the Giants prospect rankings and earned a 40-man roster add this last December.  Per Fangraphs, he missed much of last season with  AC joint and hammy issues but when he came back he pounded to zone with a sinking mid-90's FB with a cutter, curve and changeup to back it up.  His K rates are average by today's standards but his walk rate is elite and his GB ratio is hyper-elite.  We should see him in the AA Richmond box scores to start 2024.  He needs to stay healthy.

DrB's 2024 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #10 Kai-Wei Teng

10.  Kai-Wei Teng RHP.  DOB:12/1/1998.  6'4", 260 lbs.  

2023(AA):  1-3, 4.75, 47.1 IP, 12.93 K/9, 3.80 BB/9, GB/FB= 1.31.

2023(AAA):  6-5, 4.22, 79 IP, 10.94 K/9, 5.47 BB/9. GB/FB= 1.21.

Teng is a jumbo size pitcher who quietly had a pretty solid season last year surprisingly improving his ERA(though not his FIP) after a promotion to AAA.  But just the fact that he didn't crater up there is impressive given the natural hitter-friendly environment exacerbated by a notoriously tight automated strike zone.  

Teng has a low-mid 90's FB which, per Roger Munter of There R Giants, occasionally reaches 97 MPH, which he commands well backed by a tight downward slider.  Per Baseball he also has a changeup which projects as above-average.  On video, he shows an easy low-effort delivery which should allow him to work deep into games, a trait the Giants desperately need more of.  Per Baseball America he also has a changeup which projects as above-average.  He was acquired from the Twins in the Sam Dyson trade which at this point looks like it could be a big winner for the Giants as Dyson's career and personal life took a disastrous turn after the trade.  FZ does not like to put prospects on the 40-man roster who still need development time so I am going to take that development as a vote of confidence in Teng and a sign that we could well see him pitching in Oracle Park.  In fact, if the season started tomorrow there is a non-zero chance Teng might be the 5'th starter!

 

DrB's 2024 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #11 Hayden Birdsong

21.  Hayden Birdsong RHP.  DOB:  8/302001.  6'4", 215 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2025.

2023(A):  0-0, 2.16, 41.2 IP, 15.12 K/9, 4.75 BB/9.

2023(A+):  2-2, 3.25, 36 IP, 11.50 K/9, 2.25 BB/9.

2023(AA):  0-3, 5.48, 23 IP, 12.91 K/9, 5.09 BB/9. 

Young for a college draftee, Birdsong rose through 3 levels in his first full pro season, including an 11 K's in 5 no-hit innings during his stop in A+ Eugene.  Per Fangraphs scouting report he added velocity to his FB after turning pro and now sits in the mid-90's.  He backs that up with a sharp slider/curve combo.  He'll likely need to develop a changeup to remain a SP prospect.  Expect to see him back in AA to start 2024 but with plenty of time for development.

Hot Stove Update: Giants Trade Ross Stripling to the A's

Well, another trade I didn't see coming.  The Giants today traded Ross Stripling RHP to the A's for Jonah Cox OF a minor leaguer drafted just last summer in the 6'th round.  The Giants sent $3.5 M to the A's to cover part of Stripling's $12.5 M salary.  

I am pretty sure this trade feels like addition by subtraction to a lot of Giants fans.  After a shiny 2022 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, Stripling did a face plant last year after signing a 2 year/$25 M contract with the Giants.  His HR/FB rate was a crazy 22.0% which, BTW, was not the highest of his career.  He gave up 20 HR's in just 89 IP.  His performance as so bad he elected to not exercise his opt-out clause even in what promised to be an extreme buyer's market for pitchers.  

Last week we saw some odd articles by Giants beatwriters about how Stripling was working on a new pitch, a "deathball" slider that had a similar feel to those "best shape of his life" stories we read every spring.  You now have to wonder if those beat writers were used by the Giants to write propaganda pieces to gin up trade interest from other teams.  If so, the A's, who seem to be in a total state of chaos, took the bait.

So yes, it definitely seems like this was a great trade for FZ even if the Giants got nothing but a bag of bucket of used balls in return, but they actually got an interesting prospect in return:

Jonah Cox OF.   DOB:  8/4/2001.  B-R, T-R.  6' 3", 200 lbs.  Rule 5 Eligible Dec. 2026.

2023(College- Oral Roberts):  .412/.470/.646, 11 HR, 28 SB, 30 BB, 53 K, 317 PA.  

2023(ACL):  .421/.560/.579, 6 SB, 4 BB, 1 K, 25 PA.

2023(A):  .254/.325/.373, 2 HR, 14 SB, 4.2 BB%, 33.3 K%, 120 PA.  

It's a bit unusual to find a position player of this size who is also this fast.  Cox was a HS and JC shortstop who moved to CF at Oral Roberts and played mainly CF after being drafted by he A's.  He also has some pop in his bat with room for  power development.  He's got 3 more seasons of development before his Rule 5 Draft eligible so time is on his and the Giants side as far as achieving what looks like a fairly high ceiling.

With Stripling and his huge question mark out of the rotation the imperative for FZ to sign another reliable veteran SP seems to be clear.  He could not be seriously thinking of starting the season with Logan Webb as the only established MLB SP in the rotation with Alex Cobb RHP and Robbie Ray LHP at least 2 months away from activation off the IL.  Hey!  Maybe he's passed on all those second line SPs because he's keeping his powder dry for Blake Snell?  

DrB's 2024 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #12 Joe Whitman

12.  Joe Whitman LHP.  DOB:  9/17/2001.  6' 5", 200 lbs.  

2023(College- Kent St):  9-2, 2.56, 81 IP, 29 BB, 100 K.

2023(Cape Cod League):  1-0, 0.00, 5 IP, 0 BB, 9 K.

2023(ACL):  0-0, 0.00, 4 IP, 1 BB, 4 K.

2023(A):  1-0, 3.18, 5.2 IP, 2 BB, 9 K.

Whitman was a late riser in the 2023 draft and ended up as the top rated LHP in the draft with some talk of him going in the first round.  The Giants grabbed him with their second round compensatory pick for losing Carlos Rodon to free agency.  Whitman is a big lefty with a low-mid 90's FB but his best pitch is a slider with 2-plane movement.  He adds a developing changeup which he did not throw much in college.  He had a successful pro debut in limited action. I would think we'll see him start 2024 in A+ Eugene, but he has the potential to be a fast riser in the system.